You and I are Sublime
by AnonymousIndigo
Summary: Two agents of the BAU both discover they are the ghosts of each other's past. OC/OC Reid/OC Slight OC/Hotchner Rated M for later chapters


"I did it… I did _it_!" Heather cheered, extending her arms into the air as she did a little dance right outside of the BAU building. The hunter green pleated skirt she wore swished around her calves, tickling the skin under her nylon stockings, and the white blouse which had been tucked into the skirt untucked a little as she danced.

Heather Sheen looked at the FBI office completely in awe as she removed the wide sunglasses from her face, tucking the wings into neatly brushed brown hair on top of her head. Her truest feelings were revealed with her eyes; the pupils of her hazel eyes dilated and her eyes stretched to open more to take in the sight before her. She had finally made it. After all the stressful, tedious years spent in school, volunteering at the local police department, and completing many apprenticeships to learn more about the job she was striving to have… She had been invited to the BAU in Quantico. In a matter of 10 years she had done what few had achieved, and she couldn't help but crack a wide, glossy smile as an excited laugh spilled from her lips. What she didn't expect was her new boss, and team, to see her embarrassing celebration.

"The force is still strong, young padwan!" Heather cheered fist bumping the air. She flicked her Princess Leia pin on the collar of her blouse right on the words "I love you". She wore the pin and her matching ring as a symbol of good luck, but in reality the pin and ring meant so much more to her than just good luck. With a deep inhale, Heather lifted her chest, straightened her back, and took the steps up to the main door of the BAU fast in her black stiletto pumps.

"Who is that?" Agent Morgan asked as he lowered his sunglasses on the bridge of his nose to glance up at the girl who was practically sprinting up the steps, before giving Aaron Hotchner a sideways glance.

"If I am not mistaken that is Heather Ellie Sheen. She will be taking over JJ's position." Spencer stated matter of fact. "She's pretty impressive to be honest. She worked with local Fresno police to locate and handle hostage situations as a volunteer while going to Fresno State University full time. She double majored in Psychology and Criminal Justice. I believe she also managed to do four apprenticeships during her junior and senior years with individual BAU agents, Gideon being one of them. When she graduated, I had been invited to attend, and her graduation speech was eloquent and inspiring. 'To live one day doing your absolute best will never be enough. You have to live everyday doing your absolute best, otherwise you aren't living to your full potential. You are only breaking the surface now by obtaining a degree. Dig deep and you'll fly high.' She-"

"Okay Reid." Prentiss smirked, raising her brows suggestively, and the look was not missed by Morgan whom chuckled in response.

"What?" Spencer asked shrugging his shoulders dismissively and then looked at Hotchner to see if he knew what they were implying. "You asked who she was..."

"Yeah, we did. But normally we get a name, maybe the place where they come from, but you know a lot about her." Morgan pointed out and Spencer gaped at the underlining suggestion.

"If you are implying that I somehow have feelings for Miss. Sheen you are wrong! She is just one of the many students I am keen on observing so as to witness her successes. It's admirable to see people who want to do what we do happily," He pointed out. They all knew how hard it was to be happy and do their job. It was, in fact, admirable to see someone doing what they did and still manage to smile at the end of the day. Morgan shifted his weight, not comfortable with broaching the subject of the unhappiness so prevalent in their workplace, and took the stairs first only to be quickly followed by Prentiss and Reid.

"What is everyone doing standing around here for?" The voice that came from behind the team belong none other than to Richard Peter Olson. He was the agent that had joined them after coming back from a long mission abroad with a different branch of the FBI. They all knew his name wasn't really Richard. They also knew they would never know his real name because his files were heavily sealed. But they hoped that one day he would be able to open up to them about his past. The few things they knew were from what they had gathered after profiling him themselves.

He kept to himself. There was evidence that he had once been in a serious relationship. He wore a well fitting black tungsten ring on his left hand and wore a green scarf that smelled distinctly feminine; they seemed to be his personal treasures. He slept lighter than a feather and he was often closed off. He was a tall man at about six-foot one, with dark brown eyes and raven colored hair that sat a little further back due to his receding hairline. He had a beard that didn't cover his cheeks or his mouth but did cover the sides of his face and chin. He was usually smiling, but never spoke about anything to excitedly. He always had one hand in his pocket, and was prone to fidgeting if he didn't have something to do. "Did we get another case?"

"Hey, Richard!" Prentiss smiled doubling back to clap him on the shoulder.

"Are you coming back from lunch or is this your new shift?" Hotchner asked as he looked at the slightly shorter man, an unreadable expression on his face.

"Yeah, this is my new shift. I'm slowly transitioning to take over for Penelope before she's out for her maternity leave." Richard Olson smiled as he walked up the steps with the group.

"How is Penelope?" Spencer asked carefully. "Is she doing well? Does she need anything?" He vividly remembered the last mood swing he had accidentally happened upon. He walked in on one of her rants to Kevin about her expecting motherhood and, ever since, he wondered how far he should keep his distance.

"She is good, a little moody, and also very pregnant." Richard sighed heavily thinking about all the mood swings she had had in the past three days. It was nothing he had ever experienced before. He grabbed the door to open it for everyone as he said, "But I am sure she is going to be happy to see all of you, that's all she has been wanting all day. She has blown up my phone asking me if I had heard from you."

"Sounds like Garcia…" Morgan agreed.

They all walked to the elevator, and only exiting when the chime of the elevator announced that they had reached their floor. They all looked through the double glass doors to see Garcia talking animatedly to the girl they had seen earlier and were puzzled. The two were acting as if they had been close friends for years which was refreshing to see knowing how Garcia kept her distance from most people. However it was also concerning because the team had yet to decide on how they felt about the new girl.

As the team walked into the room, Richard looked up just in time to see Heather and could feel a strange sense of panic over come him. There was something about her that made him uneasy, something he hadn't felt in a long time. He couldn't put his finger on it but there was something familiar about her…

"Everyone, this is Heather Sheen. Since JJ is leaving us for DC next week, the bureau is bringing her in for a small training and she will be joining us on our future cases." Hotchner explained to the group and then turned to Heather. "Welcome to the BAU, Miss. Sheen."

"Please, call me Heather."

"Heather…" Aaron said slowly and then nodded, turning to head up the small flight of stairs and into his office where JJ had left a few cases on his desk before she had left that morning. He was not one for socializing.

Heather watched him disappear, her brows furrowing as she thought about what could possibly be on his mind and then decided it was best to not try and analyze him. She could tell that he was a very private person and wondered if everyone was like that. She turned back to the team and gave them a sweet and welcoming smile. "Hello. I know this sounds childish but I made cookies," she said opening the second bag she had been carrying which she revealed as being a lunch bag.

Inside her bag was a dozen chocolate chip, peanut butter, and white chocolate raspberry macadamia nut cookies. She smiled, looking at everyone, and then bit her lip. "I know… I know… who brings cookies to work? Well I do. It's something I do in my spare time so that I am not going stir crazy with the conversations I have to script," she explained and then laid the box out so they could grab what they wanted.

Penelope smiled, grabbing a chocolate chip cookie. "You are too cute, and I will keep you," she declared while waving the cookie in the air before taking it upon herself to introduce everyone to Heather. "Heather this delicious chocolate treat is Derrick Morgan. This wonderful lady is Emily Prentiss. The young, handsome stud is Spencer Reid, and our humble leader is Aaron Hotchner. Somewhere around here you will meet David Rossi…" She said looking around curiously. Now that she had brought him up she didn't see him. She was almost certain that she had seen him earlier. Where was he now?

"Hey, I know you are leaving soon, but don't forget me." Richard said to Penelope before he turned to Heather. "I'm Richard. I'm one of the tech guys."

When her eyes met his, that pang of familiarity hit him once again.

"Richard…?" Heather asked as she looked at him.

The way her hazel eyes sparkled as the skin stretched around and under them made her doe shaped eyes wider. He remembered once telling the woman from his past about how perfect her eyes were. That they were evenly spaced, and shaped like a doll's. This woman was blessed with the same feature. The same wide nose with a thin bridge, and gently pouted lips that made his heart race and his palms sweat. When his eyes looked above her lips and saw the two beauty spots, one on each side of her lip, he felt the sense of panic from earlier fill his chest even more.

He lifted his eyes back to hers, and quickly grabbed a cookie, not realizing he had grabbed a peanut butter one.

"No, wait!" Heather gasped taking the cookie from him and handed him the raspberry kind. "Forgive me, but you look like someone who would like this a little more…" She smiled and as she gently laid the cookie in his hand, he could feel his heart breaking.

Did she really not recognize him?

"Thank you. I meant to grab this one to be honest," he whispered as his eyes flicked to the pin on her lapel. He smirked and Heather followed his gaze.

"Are you a Star Wars fan?" She asked, only to get an 'Are you serious?' look from Richard.

"Oh yeah! I love all of them."

Heather smiled touching her pin gently and then looked at him. "I do too. Someone dear to me went and saw The Last Jedi with me the day after it came out, and I haven't been able to watch any of the films since." She admitted and then sighed. "Plus I hardly have time any more anyway." She gave a light laugh and smiled.

"I can understand that." he added with a laugh and looked up to see Morgan looking at him suspiciously and Penelope looking at Prentiss with an odd look on her face. _Fuck…_

"It was lovely to meet all of you. I am determined to do an excellent job to pull my weight with the team." Heather said honestly, flattening the swell of her skirt when Hotchner came out of his office to call for her.

"The pleasure was all mine..." Richard whispered watching Heather walk away with a little bounce in her step and wondered if he would be waiting to hear whatever she had to say to him for the rest of his time here.

Everyone had fair warned her that Aaron Hotchner kept his team tight nit, followed the rules, and didn't smile. From the looks of it, Heather thought as she glanced out the office door, everyone was very guarded. Sure, they smiled at one another and even shared a laugh but it wasn't real. It was almost as if they had all forgotten how to smile…

"Miss. Sheen?"

Heather looked to Aaron with a determined look on her face. "Yes, Sir."

"Relax."

"Excuse me?" Heather frowned, feeling her shoulder drop at the simple command.

Hotchner sat in his seat behind his desk, and took a deep breath before repeating himself. "Relax." He waited a few moments before speaking again, as if waiting for her to fully relax, but Heather didn't know what else to do to look like she was relaxed. She didn't know how to relax. She was always on her toes. There was no relaxing. The last time she had relaxed, she was probably in her twenties. The mere thought caught her off guard, and she could tell that was what Hotchner had wanted. Why did she feel like she had failed?

"Take a seat."

Before Heather could slip from his mind, Richard ducked out of sight and to Penelope's office where his desk was. When he was safely away, he removed his laptop bag from off his shoulder, pulling his crocheted scarf off before he quickly got out his computer. He opened a secure network and brought up the Facebook page of the girl he had loved. Marinna Winchester. The page was gone...

"What?" Richard whisper then brought up the independent search base he had created to better help the FBI track people that weren't in the system. He had to try and find out if she had gotten married since he last checked in on her, but that was when he found something that made him frown. "A name change?"

He tried to access the case, but even his CS Code wasn't high enough to access the closed case. "Closed Case?"

God… What had happened during his leave? He wondered, very confused.

He hadn't had much time to think about her anymore. During his assignment he had to force himself to all but forget her, and when ever he did think about her, he punished himself. She wasn't safe in his mind. If he accidentally slipped any information about her during his assignment, she could get hurt. But now that he was thinking about her… his heart was beating in a way that it hadn't for a long time. But this wasn't her. This couldn't be her. There was no way…

Heather Sheen wasn't Marinna Winchester…. There was just no way.

"What are you doing, Richard?"

Richard jumped, hitting the short cut command to pull up a default screen at the sound of Penelope's voice as she entered the room. He turned to face her, smiling innocently, until he saw who it was behind him. His face fell. He hadn't meant to show his displeasure upon seeing her, but it was too late.

"Lighten up kid, she is not replacing me. She is going to be helping do JJ's job," Penelope rolled her eyes.

"Who is?" Richard asked slightly confused by Penelope's banter.

"Heather Sheen, silly."

"Oh…" Richard looked at Penelope and rolled his eyes not wanting to answer her thousands of questions that he knew were starting to bloom in her head. He knew what she was thinking, and he wasn't ready to answer any questions. Instead he went back to his laptop, pulled his headphones on and got to work on his caseload.

Heather tucked her hair behind her ear, patiently waiting for Hotchner to speak to her as he looked over her resume and recommendations. "You had a chance to study under Agent Gideon, Miss Sheen?"

"Yes, Sir, and please, call me Heather..." Heather replied softly.

Hotchner looked up from the papers before him and turned to her, giving her a empty stare. "Heather..." He said clearing his throat and Heather didn't know if it was a sign that he was offended or is he was uncomfortable. She was quickly coming to the realization that Hotchner was going to be a hard person to read. Her thoughts were interrupted when Hotchner began speaking again.

"This team has had one liaison for the past eight years." He informed Heather. "Now that Agent Jareau is leaving us, I hope you are aware of the shoes you are about to fill." Hotchner looked up at her curiously, wondering if she could in fact fill the position effectively. She was young and, although she had all the appropriate credentials and schooling, Hotchner wasn't sure she could do this job. "This is a high alert work environment, and while I think you are qualified to handle this job as your resume already proves, I do not think you are a good fit for the team."

"Sir..."

"Within the first minute of meeting you, and your interaction with the team, it became apparent that you are more interested in people liking you than owning your qualifications for this job. You handed out cookies and made playful banter. Nothing serious or impressive to assure me you would be a good fit." Hotchner said honestly.

Heather's brows furrowed and she tilted her head. "So… Because I brought cookies to give to the team on my first day… that makes me unqualified? Is that what you are saying?"

"I am saying that your attitude and how you present yourself is not professional and I wouldn't feel comfortable taking you with us on our cases knowing full well that you would be the face of the team to the public."

Heather's jaw dropped and a choked laughed rose from her chest. "You would rather have someone that is cold and guarded be the face of the team, then someone that is warm and personable?"

"That's not what I'm saying…" Hotchner said with a small shake of his head, and relaxed his lips that were pulled in a tight line.

"Then what are you trying to say?" Heather asked, raising her eyebrow to him. "Because it honestly sounds like you don't want me on your team. I know I am young. I know I am an outsider. But Sir, I will do anything and everything to show that I am capable of not only doing this job but also protecting this team." She knew actions spoke louder than words, but what was one to do when it felt like they weren't going to be getting the chance to prove it.

Heather stayed still, waiting to see what Hotchner would say or do, but he just continued to stare at her. She did this same exact job at the Fresno FBI office. She communicated to the public and taught others the art as well so that they could succeed at their jobs just as well as she had. She went from town to town working her way up the ladder. Then the day came when the BAU scouted her, and watched her for a whole case before approaching her with an offer.

She made a name for herself without anyone coddling her or walking her through all the steps. She found the steps and made the leaps. She made sure that everyone was safe and she did her job well. She wasn't afraid to hold a gun. She was a strong shooter. Mentally, she was set- why did Hotchner think that she wasn't good enough? If he had thought she was capable he wouldn't have questioned her. If he had faith in her, he would have said something, but instead he was silent. "Do you really think I am not qualified?" She whispered looking down from Hotchner's gaze.

Out of all the things Hotchner could have said to her, he stayed silent. He was the team leader. That meant he had great insight and should be able to professionally communicate the wants and needs of the team. So… she didn't understand. When he continued to not say anything, she nodded pushing herself out of the chair and stood up. "It was a pleasure to meet all of you, but if you will excuse me, I would like some time to think."

"Excuse you?" Hotchner said surprised. "Why would I excuse you?"

"Are you not trying to have me respectfully decline the job offer, Mr. Hotchner? As much as I want to fight you on your judgment of people, this is your team. I would like some time to seriously think over this position and just who, exactly, I would be working with." Heather announced lifting her head.

Hotchner waited a moment thinking about what she said before looking away from her. "You are excused."

"Thank you, Sir." Heather said softly and walked out of the office. As she had not been shown the office she was suppose to take over by Hotchner as Strauss had told her she would, and by the firm lecture she had received she thought it was wise or at least in her best interest to leave the building just as quickly as she had came in and take some time to think about this position. So much for thinking she was just going to be able to walk in there, assure everyone that she was great at her job and start working. Her own boss had basically told her he didn't want her on the team…

"Well you must been JJ's replacement."

Heather wasn't sure if she could handle meeting someone else that would rip her to shreds within minuets of meeting her, but to be polite and because she was right outside Hotchner's door she turned around and gave the best smile she could muster. "I am Heather Sheen." She said extending her hand out to the man even though everything in her body told her not to.

David Rossi looked at her somewhat shaky hand, and then back up to her face. "Professor Lauren told me you weren't big on hand shakes. That you made up for it by being a warm, bright, and bubbly person." He pointed out, waving his chocolate chip cookie in the air to add emphasis.

Heather stiffened, but her smile widened. "I am not big on hand shakes, but this being a work environment… I assume that this is the only form of greeting I should do. Or you can take the cookie as my greeting…" She laughed nervously.

"These are very good by the way…" Rossi chuckled and looked into Hotchner's office. "Did he show you your office? Hotch, do you want me to-"

"No, no that's quite alright. I already explained that I needed some time to think a few things over. So I am actually just leaving." Heather said, her expression sobering when she remembered what Hotchner said about her professionalism. She didn't want everyone to know that Hotchner didn't think she was capable of doing her job, and something told her that if Hotchner was pressed he would tell them that.

"But Agent Roland told me you were so excited to take this position." Rossi said shaking his head. "He told me to make sure you were comfortable and to enjoy the cookies."

"That won't be necessary Agent Rossi. But thank you." Heather stated firmly. Was this why Hotchner said she wasn't a good personality match? Because people thought they had to spend extra time watching over her? She could feel her anger starting to rise. "It was a pleasure to meet you." She nodded and turned to head down stairs.

With her bag tucked under her arm, and her face emotionless, Heather stepped out the double glass doors, and into the elevator that took her to the first floor. No one had prepared her for a cold, ruthless boss. Structured, and firm? Yes. Was it her outfit? Was it really just the cookies? If he didn't think she was a good match for everyone else, then maybe he was right. Maybe her style of getting the job done wasn't the best for this team, but it had been the best to get her this job.

This wasn't the first time someone had told her that they didn't like her because of her personality. She had never not been able to do her job by being open and warm. In fact she saw her personality as an asset, as a tool that made her do her job even better. She just needed to think of a way to let Hotchner know that.

The whole team watched Heather leave Hotchner's office, and directly leave the building. Morgan turned to Prentiss as if she would have an answer as to what had just happened, however she looked at him and shrugged her shoulders while she shook her head. Reid looked up to Rossi, wondering if he knew what had occurred in Hotchner's office, but by the puzzle look on the older man's face he knew that Rossi was just as confused as everyone else.

Rossi walked into the door way of Hotchner's office and looked at him through squinted eyes, "What did you say to her?" He asked.

"Nothing she probably hasn't already heard." Hotchner said with a nod. "I told her what she needed to hear from me so that she knew that I needed her to think seriously about this job." He flipped a paper over looking up at Rossi. "That's my job."

Rossi chuckled. "I remember the first time I met you Hotch, you were this excited lawyer that was begging to be a part of the BAU. Wasn't that what Strauss liked about you? An agent that wanted to do a good job and save people's lives?" He asked biting into the cookie.

"Yes." Hotchner nodded.

Rossi rose a brow and crossed his arms. "Do you know that I went to her college as part of the tours Reid and I were told to do to recruit people into the FBI and got to speak to her?" He asked, and Hotchner said nothing. So he continued.

"We were in the middle of our lecture when she walked in. The beautiful woman you saw today, wasn't the woman Reid and I got to meet. Heather had been assaulted just a few days before we came to town by someone on campus and her face was still bruised, lip was busted, eyes swollen, right leg was in a cast, and she was on crutches. Not in a wheelchair no she was hobbling around the university campus on crutches. She was a complete mess, but she still managed to pull herself together enough to come to class. She wore a navy blue skirt that went to her ankles, and a long sleeve blouse similar to the outfit she was wearing today."

Rossi took this moment to lean in the door way so that everyone that was listen would still be able to hear him, and took a deep breath before continuing. "Reid and I had been told about the incident by the local authorities and again by the university professor because she had been one of the students most eager to meet us. I remember her resting on the door frame to catch her breath, and even though she had been through so much, Hotchner, she smiled."

Hotchner looked up from the papers on his desk and looked at him. It was clear that he wasn't amused by the story he was being told but Rossi wasn't leaving until he was done. "Tell me what kind of victim would be able to smile, and keep up appearances like that?"

"One that was suppressing their true feelings."

Rossi shook his head. "That's the thing, she wasn't suppressing her feelings. She knew what had happened. She was hurting from it, but she was focused on moving forward and not allowing it to consume her. She didn't want to give her attacker the power of knowing he had hurt her. Come to find out, this wasn't the first time she had been assaulted…." Rossi trailed off and Hotchner jumped the gun.

"So she made it a habit to put herself into compromising situations."

"Aaron, when have we ever blamed a victim for their assault?" Rossi demanded moving away from the door's eaves. "She was three when the first assault occurred, and it didn't end until she was about eight. Then to have it happen again? Where is your head Hotchner? Is this because she is taking over JJ's place? Or because Strauss went above you before you could promote internally? Where is this hostility coming from?" He asked leaning into the desk as he looked at him.

"I am not being hostile, Rossi. You don't have to like my decisions, but you do have to respect them. She isn't a good match for this team. I don't have to explain myself to you." Hotchner pointed out and Rossi rolled his eyes.

"I know, I know. You're the boss! I didn't help create this department or anything, so I guess you know best. I just hope you have someone in mind to have in here tomorrow morning when Strauss comes in to greet her." Rossi said walking out of the office making Hotchner look up surprised.

"Rossi!" He said louder than he normally would. "What do you mean?" He asked standing up and walked outside his office to look at JJ's office and see all the lights off and no one inside it. "Where did Agent Sheen go?"

"What do you mean where did she go? You excused her right after telling her you didn't think she was a good fit for this job. If I was her, I'd be on my way to a bar right about now for a stiff one." Rossi scoffed walking into his office and closed the door. "I need another cookie."

Hotchner looked at the double glass doors and then at JJ's office. Maybe he had been a bit too harsh, but he would have told anyone on the team what he had told her. This was a serious job, and he needed everyone to be on their A game when they were here. There was no time or place to be ditsy or giggly. He rethought about what he had said and then walked into his office and pulled on his jacket before walking by Reid's desk. "Will you go to Agent Sheen's place and make sure she is alright?"

"Sure, but shouldn't you be there with me?" Reid asked with a confused look on his face. However when Hotchner walked away from his desk, he nodded. "Or not." He shrugged standing up and looked to Prentiss and Morgan. "Either of you want to come?"

"I have a wedding to be at in an hour." Morgan reminded him honestly as he buttoned up the outfit he had just changed into.

"I'm meeting the Arabic officials in twenty minuets." Prentiss nodded and Reid looked up to Penelope's office. He really didn't want to go up there but maybe Penelope would deny the offer and push it onto Richard. He thought walking upstairs. Normally he would just go by himself, but because this was a BAU matter he had to go with someone.

Reid walked up to the door that was closed and hesitantly rose his hand up to the door and knocked.

"Enter!" Penelope called out and Reid took a deep breath walking into the office.

"Hey, Hotch is sending me out to check on Heather… I was wondering if either of you would like to accompany me?" Before he could look at Richard, Penelope jumped at the offer with a wide grin.

"A field trip? Count me in!" She said locking her computer up and looked at Richard. "I'll be back soon." She smiled and walked past Reid to walk down the stairs eager to get out of the office and go out for a change. Reid looked to Richard and sighed heavily giving him a smile as he closed the door and headed out after Penelope.


End file.
